【Observer Network, Xiong Chaoran】After enduring several weeks of “nightly battles” in voting over the past few months, US Senators hope to have a breather in August, but this wish may not be realized.
According to a report by The Hill on July 19th local time, President Trump requested the majority leader of the Senate (Republican Party) in South Dakota, Republican Senator John Thune, to cancel the traditional summer recess so that he could confirm his series of appointments involving administration and justice.
In his self-created social media platform “Truth Social,” Trump wrote: “I hope that talented Senator John Thune, who has won countless victories for us over the past two weeks and even six months, can cancel the August recess (and long weekend) so that I can confirm my outstanding nominees, which we desperately need!!!”
Trump and Thune
The US Congress will enter a recess period around August, lasting about a month. Currently, senators planning to take their vacation in August are scheduled to confirm Trump’s six nominations on July 21st and advance their consideration of his nomination for the Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Trump’s demand to cancel the recess period might force some senators to stop deliberately obstructing personnel appointments. It is reported that Trump’s key nominees include: nominating Emil Bove, a lawyer from the United States Department of Justice, as a federal appellate court judge, and nominating Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News anchor, as the highest federal prosecutor in Washington D.C.
Previously, Bove faced strong opposition from Democrats due to a complaint from a whistleblower.
The report alleged that Bovitz claimed that if the court issued an injunction to prevent deportation, the Trump administration should consider telling the court “f— you”. However, Bovitz denied he had instructed his attorneys to violate court orders.
Trump’s recent nominations also include two members of the National Labor Relations Board, which is responsible for enforcing labor laws. Since Trump dismissed the remaining Democratic members of the board in January this year, the board has been short of its quorum, preventing it from functioning normally.
On November 13th last year, during a vote held by Republican Senators in the United States, South Dakota Senator Thomson was elected as the Senate Republican Leader, becoming the majority leader of the Senate.
At that time, just days after winning the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Trump publicly requested new Senate leaders to allow him to conduct a “recess appointment”, allowing some nominees to be appointed without Senate approval.
Following his election, Thomson stated that Republicans would explore all options to ensure that Trump’s nominees could be quickly appointed. However, at the time, Thomson avoided a question about whether he would support a recess appointment if Trump’s nominees lacked sufficient support to win Senate confirmation.
In fact, since the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, Thomson has harshly criticized Trump for his role in inciting violence, labeling it “unforgivable”. However, he has since been actively working to repair his relationship with Trump. Although Thomson no longer publicly criticizes Trump, he is hardly considered a “strong supporter” of Trump.